Improvement in wick-trimmers



D. T.. BATES.

Wick-Trimmer.

No. 165,402. Patentedluly13,l8.75.

N. PETERS, PHOTO-LITNOGRAPNER, WASHINGTON. D C.

NITED STATES PATENT QEEICE.

DRESSER T. BATES, oEHoLmSToN, MASSAcHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT m WlCK-TRIMMERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 165,402, dated July 13,1875; application filed 7 January 2, 1875. i

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DRESSER T. BATES, of Holliston, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Wick-Trimmers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved wick'trimmer. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section throughthe center of the same. Fig. 3 is a plan of a portion of the under side of the same.

My invention has for its object to produce a simple instrument for trimming flat lampwicks so as to leave a straight, square edge; and consists in thenovel construction and arrangement of a stationary stock or handle provided with a knife-bed at the front of an opening therein, in combination with a slide, moving in a line at right angles to the line of movement ofthc handle, and provided with a knife or cutter operated by a lever and spring, the wick being introduced between the knife and its bed, and its end instantly severed by a simple movement of the lever as the instrument is grasped in the hand.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand and use my invention, I will proceed to describe the manner in which I have carried it out.

In the said drawings, A represents the stock or handle of the instrument, one end of which is enlarged and provided with a rectangular opening, b, the front a of which has secured to it a strip, 5, of soft metal, which serves as a bed for the knife or cutter d, which is secured at the center of its length by a pin or rivet, e,

f and into a slot, m, in the stock A, a projection, 7, on the under side of the slide f fitting into the slot m, which thus serves as a guide for the inner end of the slide. The lever B is held in the position seen in Fig. l-by a spiral spring, a, one end of which is secured to the arm 70 and the other end to the stock A, and as thislever is depressed against the resistance of the spring a by grasping the instrument, the slide f is carried forward and the knife brought into contact with the wick to be trimmed, which projects up between the knife and the bed 5, and the top of the wick is thus severed with a square, even out, as desired.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The combination of the stock or handle A, with its opening I), the pivoted lever B, acting directly on the Slide f, the cutter d, which moves in a line at right angles to the line of movement of the handles, and the spring n, all constructed and arranged to operate substantially in the manner and for the purpose set forth.

Witness my hand this 29th day of October, A. D. 187 4.

' DRESSER T. BATES.

In presence of-- B. G. ELLIS, L. O. BRAGG. 

